Moments Caught in Time
by Malachite
Summary: Kendall is happy being a high school hockey coach and low-key PE teacher. He works hard, has fun, and gets to buddy around with his best friend James. Life is pretty easy-going...Until a certain sophomore named Carlos comes into his classroom and into his life, and turns everything upside down with a bright-eyed smile. Kenlos flirting and sexual tension. Maybe Jagan later.
1. Chapter 1: Basketball and CheezIts

**Moments Caught in Time**

Chapter 1: Basketball and Cheez-Its

By: Malachite

**_Author's Note: Okay, so this is the beginning of an absolutely massive fic I've been working on sporadically. I figured I may as well post the first chapter and see what kind of response I get. I do not own BTR. I appreciate every Review, Favorite, and Follow I receive!_**

* * *

Kendall Knight pumped his fist in victory after he pulled into the last covered parking space available in the staff parking lot. 'Yes! And I'm not even late today! Well, not too late anyways.' He got out of his SUV, humming happily to himself as he grabbed the worn leather messenger bag off of the passenger seat. Today felt like it would be a good day.

A loud shout drew his attention to the playground basketball court, located across the ways from the covered parking. It was only his hockey reflexes that saved his face and his car from getting smashed with the basketball hurtling towards him. He caught it expertly, tucking it under his arm as he stalked towards the court. So much for having a good day. Now he had to chew out teenagers for not being careful.

Slinging his messenger bag across his back, he dribbled the basketball on the asphalt, green eyes more tired than angry. Not being a coffee drinker really negatively impacted his energy levels in the morning. But his sweet tooth couldn't handle it black, and his abs couldn't handle it with tons of cream, sugar, and caramel or chocolate. At twenty-three his metabolism was still pretty good, but he figured it was better to be safe than sorry, after seeing what most ex-players turned into when they stopped playing competitively. Plus, his best friend would never let him live it down if he got out of shape. It was bad enough having to listen to his rants about the importance of exfoliating.

He palmed the basketball as one of the high school boys ran towards him. 'Who is this? Hispanic boy…Cute hair…extremely cute. All fauxhawk-ish and spikey.' Kendall couldn't help the smirk that tugged at his lips. 'Pretty gay looking…I like that.'

"Hey Mister, can I have the ball?" The boy wiped his hands on his polo shirt then held them out, flashing a smile, white teeth shining in the morning sun.

'Dude is that…Carlos? Wow, he's actually gotten a little taller…and adorable…' Kendall couldn't help but smile in return, tossing the basketball to the boy.

"Thanks!" Carlos took off, dribbling the ball and then making an impressive jump shot.

Kendall unglued his gaze from Carlos' jean-clad ass, shaking his head as he plodded towards the school building. 'Don't be stupid, the boy is a sophomore. It doesn't matter how good he suddenly looks with a new haircut. Besides, he's straight…isn't he?'

* * *

Kendall looked up from his sandwich as the teacher's lounge door opened. Thankfully, it was just James, who never brought any weird, stinky food that would cause him to have to pack everything up and eat in his room. "Hey buddy."

"Hey!" James flashed a smile as he loosened his tie and tossed his hair, catching his own gaze in a nearby mirror and giving it a sultry look before turning his attention back to Kendall. "What's for lunch?"

"I just brought a turkey sandwich and chips."

"Aw, nothing for me?" James teased as he pulled out a plastic container from the fridge. Frowning at his lunch, he pulled opened a nearby cabinet and started rummaging through it. "Forks, forks…"

"Dude, you don't need me to bring you lunch. You have…" He made a face as James sat down across from him. "A salad. Rabbit food."

"It's healthy!" James stabbed into the romaine and chicken breast strips viciously, taking a large bite, and then talking with his mouth full. "What do you think of Carlos Garcia's new haircut?"

"Huh? What?" Kendall blinked at the sudden subject change. "It's nice, I guess."

"You don't have to lie to me you know," James stated flatly, pointing his fork (currently impaling a cherry tomato) at Kendall's face.

"Huh?"

"I saw you do a double take this morning. I have morning playground duty by the courts, remember?"

"Oh. Yeah."

James wiggled a strip of chicken at Kendall and smirked. "So, be honest, what do you think?"

"Honestly? It's pretty sexy. All spikey and faux-hawkish. It suits him…I hadn't realized he'd gotten so good looking this year."

"Hmm, mohawk-inspired haircuts are often seen on cute gay twinks…" James chewed thoughtfully, and then arched an eyebrow. "You have a little crush on him now?"

"What? No!" Kendall blushed, turning his attention to his potato chips and slowly nibbling at one, unable to meet James' judgmental gaze.

James made an incredibly annoying buzzer sound. "Wrong answer! You know I always know what you're thinking." He shrugged. "So you think the kid is kinda hot, it's not a big deal. You'll get over it when you see how annoying or lazy or rude he is."

"Yeah, that's how it always is, huh? They seem all adorable until you see their bratty side." Kendall nodded as he finished up his lunch. "Hey, are you going to tutor after school?"

"I thought about it. The principal wants me to have the gifted students, which will be a snap. They basically just need a teacher in the room to watch them. Easy money. You?"

"Yeah, the money will come in handy. She said something about me having a group of sophomores with low reading scores."

"That's what you get for substitute teaching that English class for the first quarter. Now they know you can teach more than just PE and health."

"Hey, they gave me a pretty sweet bonus for that. And I don't care; there's no one else who can lead our hockey team like I can."

"I could."

"You can just focus on your basketball team." He said the word basketball like it was a dirty word. All sports paled in comparison to hockey.

"Whatever. You better run, man. Your next period starts in like four minutes."

"Aw crap! You're right, and it's freshmen health! They'll tear apart the classroom if I'm not in there, the little psychos." He dashed off, muttering to himself about the day's lesson.

* * *

Kendall sighed as he set out the last folder. He hoped he was ready for this. He hadn't taught language arts in over half a year, and he didn't even know just what these students needed help in, other than the fact that their reading scores were low.

He stared at the student roster printed out on his desk. Three kids: One boy and two girls. He knew Camille and Lucy in passing, but the females were the least of his concern. It was the short, adorable Latino boy who he was nervous about.

He picked up the roster and took a deep breath. This wasn't like him. He was the fearless leader, the coach who always had a plan up his sleeve, the big bad hockey player who took down guys twice his size. He wasn't going to let some little tenth grader with a beautiful smile unnerve him.

They were supposed to pick up their students as they came out of their last period. Thankfully all his tutoring students had the same last class.

He stood by the door, shuffling the roster and permission slips and psyching himself up. He was pretty sure these kids wouldn't want to go to tutoring.

"Tutoring, my room, wait by the glass doors," he told the two girls on his list, who walked out together. Both gave harassed sighs and headed towards the direction he pointed.

Carlos popped out a few seconds later, all spikey hair, tanned skin, energy, and smiles. He skidded to a stop when he saw Kendall and pouted. This wasn't good; this boy had expert puppy dog eyes and would totally get whatever he wanted. "Tutoring today?"

"Yup, it's Monday. Monday, Wednesday, Friday, remember? In my classroom."

Carlos let out a dramatic sigh. "Okay."

"There's snack too."

"Awesome, I'm starving!" Carlos took off down the hallway, leaving Kendall to rush off to catch him.

Thankful that he had thought ahead to lock his room's door, Kendall caught up with the students there. He quickly unlocked it and let them in.

"Oh, nice! Cheez-Its!" Carlos dumped the little paper cup full of cheese-flavored crackers into his mouth, chewing happily as he bounced up and down in the hard plastic chair. "Can I have some more?" he asked after swallowing.

"After you sign the attendance log and we get to work," Kendall answered firmly.

Carlos pouted, but scrawled his signature on the paper attached to a clipboard. He opened the folder in front of him and shuffled through the papers, frowning at the reading passages and multiple choice questions. "We're taking a test?"

"No, but I have to see where you need help" Kendall replied, taking Carlos' snack cup and refilling it.

"Ugh, reading is boring!" Carlos proclaimed, leaning back in his chair and starting to toss crackers into the air, impressively catching them in his mouth.

"Don't make a mess-" Kendall started, then sighed as a cracker bounced off Carlos' nose, fell to the floor, and was crushed into the cheap carpet tiles by the feet of Camille's chair as it slid back.

"Oops?" Camille ducked her head, scooting her chair forward, which only ground the orange crumbs into even smaller, impossible-to-pick-up particles.

"We'll vacuum after!" Kendall declared, standing up and clapping his hands. "Okay, everyone make sure you're on page one, we're going to do the benchmark."

Lucy raised her hand. "I don't have a pencil."

Camille started tapping a purple Sharpie marker on her test. "I'm gonna just use this."

"I have one somewhere…" Carlos mumbled as he slammed his backpack from the floor on to the table.

Kendall closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Do you think Mr. Knight's nose is too big?" Camille whispered in the loudest whisper Kendall ever heard.

Lucy smirked, tilting her head and studying their teacher's profile. "I dunno."

"Shhhh, he's gonna get mad!" Carlos muttered, in the process of loading up the table with massive piles of random junk from his backpack as he tried to find a pencil of his own.

Kendall took a deep breath, walked over to a shelf, grabbed a pencil box full of freshly sharpened pencils, and placed it firmly (with a bang) in the center of the table. All three students swiftly cleared the table, grabbed a pencil, and were suddenly quiet and attentive.

"Let's start! I'll read the directions, follow along." Kendall started to read, eyes making sure everyone was actually following along. Carlos was biting his bottom lip, brows furrowed in concentration. When they started reading independently, Carlos mouthing the words silently, Kendall quietly took a seat across from the three. This was going to be an interesting hour.

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**_A__uthor's Note: So, what do you think?_**


	2. Chapter 2: Monday's Aftermath

**Moments Caught in Time**

Chapter 2: Monday's Aftermath

By: Malachite

**_Author's Note: There was some positive feedback so I figured I'd post another chapter. I figured I would make good use of being up so late at night/early in the morning, so this entire chapter is actually all new. The story's cracked 10,600 words already on my computer, so this will probably be my most epic fic to date if I stick with it. I do not own BTR. I appreciate every Review, Favorite, and Follow I receive!_**

* * *

"Okay, good job everyone." Kendall smiled as he gathered up the students' folders and started clearing off the table.

"I actually tried, by the way," Lucy drawled, twirling a strand of obviously dyed red hair.

"Good, you're supposed to always try though," Kendall remarked as he carried the container of pencils over to the supply shelf.

"She's just lazy," Camille pointed out, earning a glare from the other girl.

"I am not!" Camille snorted and rolled her eyes, causing Lucy to purse her lips and shrug. "Okay, so maybe I am. But English Lit class is always so boring. Right, Carlos?"

"Huh?" Kendall turned around to see Carlos opening the box of crackers and looking up guiltily. The boy grinned and lowered his head, but continued opening the box slyly.

"Carlos, you have to save some for Wednesday," Kendall sighed, pushing his bangs back and giving the boy a halfhearted glare.

"But I just want a handful! Come on, Mr. Knight!" Carlos smiled at Kendall as he opened up the bag of snacks, his eyes sparking with playfulness.

Kendall closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This boy was something else. "Fine, but only because you worked hard today."

"Yeah!" Carlos grabbed a huge handful of crackers, somehow managing to not spill any on the floor. He started popping them into his mouth, grinning and talking with his mouth full. "Thanks, Mister!"

Kendall offered a small, crooked smile. "You're welcome."

Carlos made a happy sound and shoved the rest of his handful into his mouth. Kendall grabbed the box from the table and shoved it into a nearby cabinet, hoping that "out of sight, out of mind" held true long enough for him to get the hungry teen out of his room.

"So everyone has a ride home then?" Kendall asked as he held the door open and motioned for everyone to walk through it.

"Uh huh...Come on, my mom is waiting for us," Camille said, looking up from texting on her cell phone as Lucy took her sweet time packing her backpack (black and covered with buttons and random metal piercings, of course). She grabbed the other girl by her bag and dragged her out of the room, waving perkily over her shoulder. "Bye, Mr. Knight!"

"Yeah, my dad is…hold on!" Carlos fumbled his vibrating cell phone out of his pocket, dropping it on the carpet once before he managed to answer it. "Papi? Yeah, I'm coming now." He looked up at Kendall and grinned, offering a fist out. Kendall acquiesced, fist-bumping the boy firmly. Carlos dramatically wiggled his hand at his side, feigning pain and making Kendall shake his head again as the boy grinned manically.

"Goodbye Carlos."

"Bye Mister!" Carlos chirped, swinging his backpack over one shoulder and chatting rapidly in Spanish on the phone as he made his way down the hall.

Kendall let out a long breath, walking over to his desk and gathering his things, being sure to slide the tutoring folders into his messenger bag. Not that he'd grade them at home, but at least he had the option to if he somehow felt like it. Tutoring had been a lot more enjoyable than he had imagined. This was going to be an interesting couple of months.

* * *

"James, are you okay?" Kendall was looking at his best friend with concern.

"Yeah, just tired. Why, do I look awful?" James smiled wanly as he placed the last bowl from their dinner into the dishwasher and shut it firmly.

"You're wearing your comfy clothes." Kendall pointed to the loose plain white t-shirt and trunk-style brief underwear James was wearing. "You're not wearing a tank top to show off your body, or even cute designer underwear."

James snorted, pointing a judgmental finger at Kendall. "Look who's talking. How old is that band shirt? And stripey boxers are so not sexy."

Kendall crossed his arms and leveled James with a firm jade-green stare. James knew better than to try blow him off.

With a soft sigh the taller man ran his fingers through his hair, and then motioned Kendall towards their living room, throwing himself on the couch and taking every inch of it. Kendall smoothly shoved James' legs aside and sat down comfortably.

"Hey!" James pouted, putting his feet up in Kendall's lap and kicking lightly at Kendall's chest. "You're supposed to be nice to me."

"Naw." Kendall smirked. "So, what's up? Was it your tutoring kids?"

"Actually, no. They all ignored me really, except that Logan kid. He's really interesting to talk to. He was so excited to show off his project."

"Logan Mitchell? You're tutoring the genius?"

"Pfft, it's not tutoring. They're just calling it that so that they can pay me. It's more like babysitting the science geeks while they work on their projects."

"Uh-huh…so what's wrong then?"

"My mom is trying to set me up again."

"Dude."

"I know! I mean, I know I'm irresistible to the ladies." He winked as Kendall snorted. "But the last thing I want to do is waste my time and money on one. Like I didn't have enough dates with girls when I was a closeted teenager."

"Tell me about it. Is your mom bringing up the grandchildren thing too? Mom keeps bringing it up, trying this guilt thing on me. 'Whatever happened to that Jo girl with the pretty eyes? You'd have such beautiful blonde babies.' Ugh."

"No, thank God. Then she'll have to admit she's old enough to be a grandma."

Both men laughed. The only time Mrs. Diamond admitted her age was when she was giving her sales pitch and trying to prove how effective her cosmetics were.

"Don't let her get to you, James." Kendall gently pushed James' legs off his lap as he stood up. "I promise it'll be okay."

James nodded. "I know." He gave Kendall a curious look. "You're not gonna tell me to come out to her?"

"I'm not a hypocrite." Kendall yawned and stretched, pulling down his t-shirt as it rode up above his stomach. "Plus she'd tell my mom, and then they'd both think we're constantly having sex parties here or something."

James laughed. "That'd be fun to do again. But, you're like my brother, Kendall."

"Yeah." Kendall offered James a hand up, pulling the taller man to his feet and then wrapping him in a tight hug. "Thanks for being part of my family."

James hugged back tightly, pressing a kiss to the top of Kendall's head. "Always gonna be here for you, bro."

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_**Author's Note: Clicking the Review button really helps!**_


	3. Chapter 3: Tuesday's Tickling

**Moments Caught in Time**

Chapter 3: Tuesday's Tickling

By: Malachite

**_Author's Note: I usually wait a week or so before posting the next chapter, but seeing as the previous chapter was quite short, I have a ton of this story already typed up, and people are giving some nice feedback, I figure I may as well update with another shorter chapter. I do not own BTR. I appreciate every Review, Favorite, and Follow I receive!_**

* * *

"Stupid carpet tiles," Kendall growled in annoyance as he tugged the vacuum behind him. It was an old, cheap, and awfully heavy appliance, but at least it worked. He had been too tired to vacuum up the cracker crumbs yesterday, and thanks to budget cutbacks, his room was only vacuumed on Fridays. He wasn't going to leave the mess that long. He didn't want rats, or even worse, roaches, roaming around.

Finally arriving at his classroom, he stripped off his polo shirt, pulling down his tank top as it rode up. He wasn't about to get his work clothes messed up by crawling around on the floor picking up too-large-to-vacuum pieces.

Resigned to his fate, he plugged in the noisy vacuum and ran it over the various crumbs littering his floor. Of course, it missed all the larger chunks. Kendall closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and shut off the vacuum. He bent over (careful to not bang his head on the table), and started the tedious task of picking up cracker bits with his fingers.

"Michael Kors? Ooo, fancy, Mister!"

Kendall bashed his head on the table as he stood up quickly, stumbling back and leaning against the wall. Shaking his head to clear it, he glared at the two boys who stood in his doorway. "What are you guys doing here?" he asked as he pulled up his black pants (which James said he should call "chinos", and not khakis) over his underwear waistband that was showing. He should've known better than to wear shiny silver metallic waistbanded underwear. Carlos was grinning, while Logan was smirking, and neither looked very apologetic.

"We just wanted to visit you!" Carlos said happily as he walked in, pulling Logan along.

"Shouldn't you be waiting in the cafeteria or the hallway or something before class starts?" Kendall rubbed his head and tried to not stare at the copious amount of smooth skin Carlos was showing from his unbuttoned pink polo shirt.

"Carlos, you need to think more before you act. Mr. Knight might have really hurt himself on that table," Logan lectured, walking over to Kendall and peering up at the sore spot Kendall was rubbing.

"Guys, really, I appreciate the visit, but I have to finish cleaning up…" Kendall said, trying to find a way to delicately make the students leave.

"I got it!" Carlos cried, getting down on the floor and picking up the few remaining Cheez-It crumbs.

"Here, bend down a little so I can check where you bumped yourself," Logan commanded in a clinical, no-nonsense voice. Kendall rolled his eyes and sat down in a nearby chair, figuring it was easier to have the school's resident future doctor check on him than walking all the way across campus to the nurse's office.

"It doesn't really hurt, Logan," Kendall mumbled as the boy gently examined him.

"Oh, you know my name too? Ugh, all the teachers do." Logan nodded a bit to himself and stepped back. "You've barely got a bump, you should be fine. I'd recommend icing it, and maybe taking an ibuprofen so you don't get a headache."

"DONE!" Carlos shouted, launching himself off the floor, dashing to the wastebasket, and slam-dunking his handful of trash.

"Okay, thanks, so you guys can go to the cafeteria now," Kendall said firmly as he stood up and grabbed his polo shirt.

"You don't like us?" Carlos made a surprised-and-sad face that made Kendall wince.

"Carlos, I have a lot of work to do. I still need to grade your benchmark tests from yesterday. Plus, I promised James and the Principal I'd take James' last period, so that's even more prep work I have to do."

Logan frowned. "Is Mr. Diamond okay? Is he sick? I hope he gets better before Wednesday so he can watch us in the lab. Maybe I should make him soup? Or bake him cookies." Logan trailed off, mumbling to himself.

Kendall arched an eyebrow at the concern of the intelligent boy. "Huh? Oh, yeah, he's fine, just leaving early for some appointment or whatever. Come on guys, you better go."

"Ooo-kay," Carlos drawled out, then bounded forward and poked Kendall in the ribs.

"Ah, hey!" Kendall cried, throwing his polo shirt on his desk and crossing his arms over his chest to try and look imposing. His biceps may not be as huge as James', but he knew he could look pretty bad-ass when he wanted to.

Carlos just grinned and pulled a few fake punches against Kendall's stomach. Logan shook his head and walked towards the door.

Kendall couldn't help but grin. Seeing an opening, he jabbed Carlos in the side with his finger.

"Oof!" Carlos breathed out as he stumbled backwards, obviously not in too much pain from the grin on his face. "Okay, you got me! It's not fair when you have all those muscles. But I'll get you later, Mister!" Carlos scampered out the door, calling Logan's name as he caught up with his friend.

Kendall sat down heavily in his desk chair, picking up his polo shirt once more and giving it a good shake before slipping it on. That was certainly…interesting. "Crazy, hyper boy" he mumbled as he emptied his messenger bag and got down to actually working.

* * *

"So, what exactly is this 'personal appointment' you have scheduled for last period? You know that's my free period."

James grinned at his friend. "That's for me to know, and you to find out."

"It's probably a haircut at that crazy expensive salon," Kendall muttered.

"Maybe," James shrugged, the smirk not leaving his face.

Kendall rolled his eyes, reaching over to flick a finger at James' bangs, which provoked a huff and half-hearted glare. Now Kendall was the one smirking. "Oh, hey, little Logan was all worried that you were sick."

James laughed softly, shaking his head. "Ah, Logie. That boy spazzes out sometimes. It's really funny to watch. He always means well though."

"Mhm…I think he liiiikes you," Kendall teased.

"Logan? No way, man. He's an actual genius. Obviously he'd only pay attention to other intelligent people."

"You're smart, James."

"I guess, in some areas, but still, there's no way he's crushing on me. I'm sure he's just worried that he'll lose science lab time without a supervising teacher."

Seeing as James wouldn't even consider the idea, Kendall let it drop for now. It was no use teasing him if he just ignored the entire premise. "Well, wherever you go, have fun. And you owe me dinner."

James flashed a brilliant smile. "Thanks for covering for me. You okay with Italian? Logan told me about this little place that he says has amazing calzones."

"Long as you don't get some vegetarian gluten-free healthy crap that sounds good."

James rolled his eyes. "Eating healthy won't kill you, but fine, I'll make sure to get something we'll both like."

"Thanks. I'll be sure to work your students hard. Have you warned them that I'm taking the class?"

"Yeah, and they've been properly warned and threatened." James looked thoughtful, stopping outside his classroom, and turning to give Kendall a curious look. "Do you have plans Friday night?"

"No, not really, just hitting the gym or the rink probably, why?"

"Mm, you'll see," James replied mysteriously as he unlocked his door and walked Kendall inside.

"Whatever," Kendall mumbled, picking up James' lesson plans and putting the strange comment out of his mind. He had to focus on making sure thirty high schoolers understood the health lesson. He'd save his curiosity and paranoia for later.

* * *

**Author's Note: You know you wanna leave a review. All the cool slash readers are doing it...**


	4. Chapter 4: Corn Dog Dreams

**Moments Caught in Time**

Chapter 4: Corn Dog Dreams

By: Malachite

**_Author's Note: So this chapter is a little bit "slower", but this isn't exactly a fast-moving drama-packed fanfic here in the beginning. Yes, there is a plot, but the boys need to really get to know each other first. Please let me know what you think. I do not own BTR. I appreciate every Review, Favorite, and Follow I receive!_**

* * *

Kendall sighed for what felt like the hundredth time since he'd woken up. He slowly took another spoonful of Cheerios, chewing the cereal slowly as he scrolled through the e-mails on his phone.

"Whoa, what are you doing up so early?" James stepped into the kitchen, clad in nothing but a pair of red briefs and towel-drying his hair. He through the towel over a chair as he started gathering the items he needed for his morning protein shake.

"I can't be late today." Kendall pushed his cereal bowl away from him and ran his fingers through his messy hair as he yawned.

James looked thoughtful as he sipped the chocolate-looking vitamin-packed concoction that was his breakfast, leaning on the counter and facing Kendall. "Well, the shower is free."

"Thanks, man." Kendall placed his phone down and got up, walking his breakfast dish to the sink.

As the porcelain clinked softly into the stainless steel basin, James reached over and clasped a hand on Kendall's shoulders. "You want to carpool today?"

"Will you be ready to go on time?" Kendall asked, both men knowing the amount of time it took James to perfect his appearance.

"Yeah, we're early today. Go wash up."

Kendall did so, and finally felt awake after the shower. Tying his towel around his waist, he stepped into his bedroom, to see James digging through his closet. "James?"

"Oh good, I need the bathroom mirror. Here, I was bored waiting, so I picked out your clothes for today." He motioned towards the bed, where he had indeed laid out an outfit. He ran his fingers through his hair, not yet immaculately styled, and gave Kendall a glare. "And you better appreciate it. No plaid today!"

Kendall smirked and laughed a little. "Fine, but you better have chosen something comfortable."

"Of course." James replied breezily as he headed towards the open bathroom.

Kendall had to admit, James did have a good eye for fashion. He always seemed to look a little bit better when James dressed him, even if it was the same track pants and Under Armour shirt that he always wore on coaching days.

Of course, before they headed out the door, James took one look at Kendall's hastily combed-to-the-side hair and yanked him back into the bathroom. "James!" Kendall growled, "I can't be late!"

"This will only take like five minutes, and we're already like twenty minutes early." James tightened his grip on Kendall's shoulder.

"Fine." Kendall pouted, his bottom lip sticking out petulantly.

It was actually only took James four minutes to style Kendall's hair, the bathroom a whirl of hair care products. Kendall appraised himself in the mirror, grudgingly nodding his head. "Okay, yeah, fine, it looks better. Can we go now?"

James called out from near the front door. "Come on, I'm waiting for you!"

Kendall rolled his eyes, but smirked. James was crazy, but he did always mean well.

As they walked to the car, James glanced at Kendall and grinned proudly. "You look good. Little Carlos will be impressed."

"I doubt that," Kendall replied flatly. But he did allow the tiniest smile at the thought.

* * *

Kendall carefully balanced the huge pile of papers in his arms as he opened the door to his classroom-slash-office (it was kind of between the two in size). The papers started to get away from him as the door swung open, but he managed to balance the stack as they started to slide. Thankfully, he didn't have to unlock his door, or else there would be vocabulary tests all over the hallway.

"Hey, good balancing act, Mister!"

Kendall's eyebrows furrowed as his comfy black pleather desk chair spun around to reveal Carlos sitting in it, looking immensely pleased with himself.

"Good morning, Carlos," Kendall replied, trying to not let the sight of the bright-eyed boy make him break into a goofy smile. He set his papers on a nearby table, sitting down on it and allowing himself to smile just a little at the hyper boy.

"G'morning! Oh, hey, I like your hair, Mr. Knight!" Carlos bounced up from the chair, bounding over to Kendall with a grin. "It looks really cool!"

"Thanks. I like yours too."

"You do? I spent thirty minutes on my hair this morning! Not even a bullet can mess it up! Touch it!"

Kendall blinked as Carlos leaned his head towards him. Swallowing hard, he delicately stroked two fingers through the raven spikes.

"See how it's all hard?" Carlos turned around, giving Kendall full access to his mohawk-like hair.

Kendall nodded, carding his fingers through the gel-spiked hair and enjoying the feel. Carlos closed his eyes and leaned a little back into Kendall. 'He likes that.' Before his brain could do more than process the fact that he was making Carlos happy, he did it again, a little harder, dragging a breathy moan of pleasure from the boy's lips. 'Oh, he really likes that...wait! Dude, stop!' He pulled back, finally remembering himself.

Carlos ducked his head a little as he turned back around to face Kendall. He shook it off though, and then ran his own fingers through his hair, grinning happily. "It takes a lot of effort to look this sexy."

'James would love this kid.' "Yes, Carlos, it's very sexy."

"I know, right?" Carlos attempted a "sexy model" pose, then ruined it with the goofiest smile. "Hey, we have tutoring today, right?"

"Yeah, it's Wednesday, so after class you guys can come down here."

"Okay." He looked down at his G-Shock, and then frowned once he saw the time. "I better get to my locker."

"Yeah, I need to get these quizzes ready for my first class." Kendall didn't move though, green gaze focused on Carlos, who was looking him up and down, with a very un-Carlos-like smirk. Kendall bit his lip, his eyes meeting Carlos' squarely as they both took a step towards each other, almost unconsciously.

"Uh, Mister, I…" Carlos' voice was a little raspy, his gaze searching for something.

"Carlos," Kendall murmured, then shook his head, breaking the staring contest and walking to his desk. "You don't want to be late."

"Yeah…" Carlos mumbled, wiping his palms on his skinny jeans. He smiled warmly at Kendall, giving a little wave as he headed out. "See you at tutoring, Mister!"

Kendall returned the wave and smile, and then let out a sigh as he crashed into his desk chair. That boy was going to be the death of him.

* * *

"Okay, writing assignment!" The three students groaned. Camille dramatically flopped down over the table they were seated at, while Lucy pulled her hoodie down over her head. Carlos sank back in his seat, facing up with his eyes closed towards the ceiling, legs splayed out in front of him as if passed out.

"Carlos, I know you're not dead." Kendall said, a bit of fondness creeping into his deadpan tone. Carlos didn't respond, though he completed his "unconscious" acting by lolling his tongue out of his mouth. The two girls snuck glances at him and giggled.

Kendall quietly stood up out of his chair, walked around next to the "dead" Latino boy, and firmly poked his chest with a few fingers. Carlos made an "oof" sound and sat up, pouting and rubbing the spot where he was attacked. "Hey!" he whined.

"Come on, dude, you've got to work," Kendal chided, starting to pass out loose leaf paper for the assignment.

"You've got to work," Carlos muttered, poking Kendall in the stomach as he walked past. Kendall ignored it, rolling his eyes.

"Okay, today's quick write topic is: 'What incentives would you like for meeting your tutoring goals?' I expect paragraph form, not just a list." Kendall sighed as he noticed his students all staring at him in confusion. "Incentives are rewards, like a certain kind of prize, or snack, or something like that."

"Oh!" Carlos bounced up and down. "I would want-"

"Write it down." Kendall cut in smoothly, placing a pencil on the table in front of the boy. Carlos rolled his eyes and made a frustrated sound, but picked it up and started to scrawl away.

"I don't know what to write," Camille complained as she sighed forlornly. Kendall sighed as well, spinning his teacher's chair towards her and tapping her blank paper.

"Look, you put in a lot of time and effort here. What could the school do for you or give to you as a reward?"

"An acting career. The lead in the next drama class production. Oh! An all expense paid trip to Italy!" Camille flung her hands over her head dramatically, embracing the air.

Kendall shook his head. "It needs to be inexpensive and realistic."

"Oh, well that's no fun." Camille tapped her pencil on her chin and looked thoughtful.

Kendall turned his attention to Lucy, who was carefully writing a short paragraph. When she saw him looking, she quickly covered her paper with a hand. "I'm not done," she informed him, staring Kendall down until he relented, spinning the chair back towards Carlos.

"I'm done!" he cried out happily, shoving his paper forward towards Kendall with a grin. Kendall picked it up, wincing at the horrible grammar and punctuation errors, but this was just a task to get ideas on paper. He scanned it quickly, trying to keep his facial features neutral.

"_I want 500 corn dogs from Hot dog on a stick and to eat lots of food so I wont be hungry and starve so I can be happy and eat 500 corn dogs with ketchup or get an iphone 4S for winning a contest."_

Kendall gave Carlos a half-hearted glare. "If you eat five hundred corn dogs you'll die."

"Well I don't have to eat them all at once," Carlos explained matter-of-factly, as if the entire concept made perfect sense.

Kendall shook his head, not sure why he found Carlos' eccentricities adorable. "I guess so." He was distracted by Camille loudly announcing she was finished and shoving a neatly bulleted (with hearts) page in his face. "Camille, I said no lists!"

A loud grinding made him swivel his chair, just in time to see Lucy stoically feeding her paper through the paper shredder. She looked over at him and blinked seriously. "It won't come true if I tell anyone."

"This is an essay, not a birthday wish!" Kendall made a mental note to unplug the paper shredder, as Carlos' eyes had lit up at seeing the destruction.

"Actually, it's a quick write assignment." Camille pointed out, causing Kendall to glare at her. She simply smiled girlishly.

"Never mind. Let's review the chapter you guys read in your novel today." Kendall walked around to his bookshelf and started to pass out the paperback books the students were reading in Sophomore English/Literature. He paused behind Carlos, the boy turning around to look up at him curiously. Kendall lightly smacked the book on Carlos' head. "Don't even try putting this through my paper shredder."

"Aww, man." Carlos grinned, eyes sparkling. "Okay, can I shred something else after class then?" he asked hopefully.

"Yes, fine, after class. Now! Let's review this chapter and make sure your outlines are filled out correctly." Kendall hopped back into his chair, watching as the three students flipped open their books. Carlos looked up a second later, catching his eye and smiling. Kendall nodded and started to ask review questions off of the English teacher's outline, trying to not let on just what that smile did to his heart.

* * *

**Author's Note: Give the boys some encouragement by leaving a Review! Maybe Logan will pop up again if people ask for him. Or, Carlos might be a little more flirty...looking forward to reading what everyone thinks.  
**


	5. Chapter 5: Stripper or Chicken?

**Moments Caught in Time**

Chapter 5: Stripper or Chicken?

By: Malachite

**_Author's Note: This chapter took forever for me to write…sorry if anyone was getting a bit impatient for an update. It's after midnight, and my stomach isn't being very happy, so I'm pulling one of those "Okay, I spellchecked it and am just going to post it!" deals. Please let me know what you think. I do not own BTR. I appreciate every Review, Favorite, and Follow I receive!_**

* * *

"Yes! We're done!" Camille cried as she finished scribbling in the last section of the outline in front of her.

"Yeah!" Carlos bounced to his feet and did a hip-thrusting victory dance, which was somewhere between hilarious and sexy.

Kendall smiled as he stood up himself, starting to clean up the table. "Well, that's all for today…let's start packing up. Everyone, make sure to turn in your outline tomorrow."

When he turned back around, Lucy and Camille were heading out the door, waving and calling their goodbyes. Carlos was still doing his victory dance, which seemed to alternate between him pretending to be a stripper, and pretending to be a chicken.

"Okay, Carlos, we get it. You're happy." Kendall chuckled as he finished packing up his things and sat on the edge of his desk.

"Ha! I'm sexy AND smart!" Carlos grinned as he swiveled his hips, slowly hitching up his shirt. "Hey mister, wanna see my sixpack?" He grinned, brown eyes twinkling as his other hand slipped under the shirt and rubbed his stomach.

"What?" Kendall blinked, not following Carlos' random subject hop. Of course his eyes were betraying him, drawn to the line of tanned skin the boy was showing.

Carlos laughed softly. "I'll show you my sixpack."

Kendall swallowed hard, at a loss for words as his heartbeat sped up. He could clearly read the "Calvin Klein" stitching on the waistband of Carlos' underwear that was peeking out over his jeans now.

Carlos danced closer, eyes dark, a cross between a smirk and playful smile tugging at his lips. Time seemed to stop, and Kendall couldn't move.

Carlos suddenly started laughing, ducking his head and looking away. "Ah, you were actually gonna look?" he asked softly.

"Uh, well, you're just kinda…there…" Kendall replied slowly.

Carlos shrugged, smiling shyly, hints of a blush tinting the tips of his ears. "I don't really have a sixpack anyways," he mumbled, staring at the wall.

Kendall's winced as his heart squeezed painfully in his chest. He walked over to Carlos, voice calm. "I'm sure your abs are fine. You're always running around, exercising…" He gave a firm poke to Carlos' stomach, making the boy gasp, then turn around and grin.

"I guess so. Thanks, Mister Knight." He clasped Kendall's shoulder firmly, finally meeting Kendall's gaze again. He tilted his head a little, eyebrows quirking together. "You have really cool eyes," he murmured quietly.

"Thank you…so do you…" Kendall replied just as quietly, smiling as those big brown eyes got even bigger.

"Carlos?" Carlos spun around, turning to face Logan as he walked through the open door. "Oh good, you're still here. You weren't answering my texts, so I thought you forgot about me."

Smoothing a hand through his spiked hair, Carlos grabbed his backpack and walked towards his friend. "I'd never forget you, Loges." Carlos grinned and wrapped an arm around the slightly taller boy's shoulders. "On purpose," he finished playfully.

Kendall swallowed hard, heading over to his desk to grab his bag. His brain was going a million miles an hour, but the main thought that kept pounding through him was worry that Carlos would hate him, or find him creepy or something. He was usually a really good planner, but being around Carlos and his craziness brought out his impulsive side.

"Hey mister, thanks!" Carlos was smiling from the doorway, a hand on Logan's shoulder. Kendall ripped his gaze from where the two boys were touching when he noticed Logan studying him like a science problem that had to be figured out. He really didn't need the genius jumping to conclusions and turning Carlos against him.

"You're welcome, Carlos."

"So, tutoring Friday, right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Bye, mister!" Carlos and Logan waved, then headed down the hallway, talking and laughing, occasionally shoving each other.

"They're really cute, huh?" Kendall gasped as he spun around, nearly crashing into James' rock solid body as he did so.

"James!" Kendall punched his friend in the shoulder, then grabbed his messenger bag. "Don't sneak up on me, man."

"Dude, I walked here with Logan. It's not my fault you were distracted."

"Uh, when exactly did you guys get here?"

"I got here right when he did. Why, were you doing something naughty?" James smirked, invoking finger quotes and an evil grin.

"Dude!" Kendall shoved James shoulder, stomping out of the room. "We were just talking."

"Mhm, sure." They walked in silence, but Kendall could feel James thinking, wondering, and judging him.

Hoping to distract James from tormenting him any further, Kendal tried to change the subject as they got into his car. "Do you want to go anywhere before we drive home?"

"The mall!" James gave a happy little jump and pumped his fist in the air before crawling into the passenger seat.

"On a Wednesday?"

"Yeah, it's great, there's tons of parking and it's not crowded. Besides, there aren't any good sales coming up this weekend anyways."

"Well, where do you need to go? I'm kind of tired."

"Just 7 for all Mankind. I need to pick up my 'sexy jeans' that are getting hemmed. You know, the silver ones?"

"I can't believe you bought silver skinny jeans."

"Hey, metallics are neutrals and excellent for eveningwear and special occasions."

"So dancing at a gay bar is now a special occasion?"

"When it's me dancing? Yes."

"Whatever. Okay, so just the one store then, no problem."

"And Sephora. I need more bubble bath. I'm thinking something cinnamon. I hope that Philosophy one isn't too sweet. I have to smell it first, you know?"

Kendall coughed as he had a mental image of a cinnamon-scented bubble bath featuring Carlos. "Okay…"

"Oh, and I want to swing by Williams-Sonoma too. And maybe Sur La Table after, if they don't have what I need, so I can get a backup."

"James, you don't cook."

"I'm going to look at the baking stuff."

"You don't bake either."

"I know, but I'm not shopping for myself."

Kendall's eyes narrowed as he turned on to the freeway exit that would eventually lead them to the mall. "So, a present? What, did you fuck a baker or something when I wasn't paying attention?"

James snorted. "No, I did not, mister 'Sex is boring and I don't really need it'. I just want to pick up a little thank you gift."

"For?"

"Someone."

"Okay…" The rest of the ride to the mall was thankfully silent, both men lost in their thoughts and feeling the fatigue from working since early in the morning.

* * *

"Science-themed cookie cutters?"

"Aren't they neat? Look, there's a chemistry beaker, and one of those little swirly molecule thingies. Look, there's planets too! He'll get a kick out of those."

"So this is a thank you gift?"

"I've been thinking. I should probably make some an incentive too. Maybe like give one as a thank you and make him work for the others? Not that he needs encouragement. But it's always nice to be rewarded for your hard work, right?"

"James."

"I mean, I feel a little guilty just sitting at my desk playing on my computer or phone while he's always so busy, and he really should be encouraged, and there's not much else I can really do…"

"James!" Kendall grabbed James shoulder, shaking him a little. James looked at him, hazel eyes showing a storm of emotions that made Kendall frown slightly. It was rare for James to get this emotionally involved with anyone. "Calm down, bud." Kendall gently took the cookie cutters off of the display shelf and placed them in James' basket, tossing a package of Star Wars ones in as well. "So, I take it one of your students did something nice for you. And he or she bakes."

James sighed, raking his fingers through his hair, then obsessively brushing it back into place. "He brought me cookies…"

"What?"

"Logan. He baked me fucking cookies. Chocolate chip ones. No one has ever done that before for me. Ever."

"Ever?"

"Well like since I was in, what…maybe third, fourth grade? When my mom still acted like a caring, doting parent."

Kendall winced. Mrs. Diamond wasn't exactly the nicest, warmest mother out there.

"How sad is it that the first time someone besides you shows that they care…it's just a kid?"

"Logan seems like a nice guy…Carlos likes him a lot. I think they're best friends."

"Yeah they are." James marched over to the cashier to pay. Kendall waited outside the store, leaning against the white wall of the store façade and turning over in his head what James had said.

When James stepped out holding a white shopping bag, Kendall peeked in and grinned. "You made them gift wrap it?"

"Of course, it's free. I figured I'd give him the science ones as a thank you and keep the Star Wars ones as a surprise for when he finishes this part of his project. To show him how proud I am of him."

Kendall patted James back, rubbing it soothingly as they walked down the mall concourse. "You're usually not this nice…it's cute."

James frowned, eyes set straight ahead as they walked. "I mean, besides you, no one has ever cared that much for me in my life, especially recently. You know how my mother is. She just checks that I'm alive, and that I haven't cashed in any of my shares of stock in her company." He took a deep breath, then let it out. "Honestly? It was really great to have someone give a shit about me. About whether I was sick, and if I was all better." James turned and gave Kendall a tiny smile. "You know what else he gave me?"

"A blowjob?" Kendall smirked as James punched his shoulder.

"Not even, man. He brought a thermos of fat free milk. How'd he know?" James smiled as he shook his head at the memory.

"Well, he is a genius. Probably figured you didn't seem like the type to drink fattening stuff, but still had a weakness for milk and cookies? Or you probably told him and he remembered. Geniuses do stuff like that. Keep it all in their head to use later." Kendall stopped and motioned to the store they were currently stopped in front of. "Aren't you going to get your silver skinny jeans?"

"Yeah. Hey, hold this." James pressed the shopping bag into Kendall's hands. His voice dropped lower, as he murmured, "Thanks for putting up with me."

Kendall grasped the bag, smiling at his best friend. "You know I love you."

"Yeah, I love you too. Even if you don't bake me cookies when I'm sick." James smirked as he headed into the store.

"You weren't even sick!" Kendall called after him, prompting James to flip him off as he walked through the store's glass entryway.

Kendall slid his phone out of his pocket as he waited, staring at his current NHL logo background. He wondered if he could get away with snapping a photo of Carlos. He'd have to keep that in mind the next time the boy decided to do his little hip-thrusting victory dance. He shook his head, telling himself it was an incredibly stupid, incredibly dangerous idea. But he did allow himself a little daydream, the memories of a flirty smile and laughing eyes coming back to him. He knew he was smiling goofily in the middle of the mall, but he really didn't care.

"Mr. Knight?"

The familiar voice snapped him out of his daydream. He slowly turned around, slipping his phone into his pocket. "Carlos?"

* * *

**_Author's Note: Reviewing bring happiness to everyone!_**


	6. Chapter 6: Just Desserts

**Moments Caught in Time**

Chapter 6: Just Desserts

By: Malachite

**_Author's Note: This was the most difficult chapter to write to-date. I had a good bit written, but had to overhaul things. So after some extensive rewriting and a quick check with my __amazing friend __RyDeNiSlOvE__, this_**_** is what I came up with. Please leave feedback people! I appreciate every Review, Favorite, and Follow I receive! As always, I do not own BTR.** _

* * *

Kendall's eyes widened as Carlos bounded towards him, his shopping bags precariously just missing smacking other shoppers in the head. Carlos skidded to a stop in front of Kendall, tossing his bags to the ground and fist-bumping Kendall, grinning brightly the entire time.

"Hey, Mr. Knight!" Carlos greeted happily.

"Hey, Carlos," Kendall replied, unable to help himself from smiling in return.

"What are you doing here?" Carlos leaned against the banister of the mall's walkway.

"Waiting for James." Kendall nodded towards the clothing store where James was undoubtedly buying something to wear with his newly hemmed jeans.

"Oh cool. Logan's over there." Carlos pointed a few stores down to a greeting card and gift shop. "He's looking for a card for his grandma or something. He made me wait outside when I almost broke one of those stupid tiny glass unicorn things though. It's not my fault it was on the edge like that. And I barely bumped it. And he caught it anyways!"

"Ah."

"Yeah. So then I was all annoyed, and kind of sad cause I don't like it when Logan gets mad at me, but then I saw you standing over here! So I'm better now!"

"Uh-huh," Kendall nodded, smiling and quirking an eyebrow at how animated the boy was.

"Oh, let me show you what I got!" Carlos hummed happily as he started digging through the bags he had set down. "Look! Here's a polo from Abercrombie. I got this cool tank from H&M and these boxers from Express!" Carlos brandished a purple tank top in one hand, and purple boxer briefs in the other, smiling proudly as he showed off his finds. Kendall stared at the underwear for a good three seconds before he averted his gaze, blushing and trying to not smirk in what would probably have been a creepy manner. "I wanted to go to the Nike store to get some new kicks, but Logan said I already spent too much money. But it's okay, cause my cousin gave me a gift card to the mall."

"Cool." Kendall glanced into the store, watching James walk back and forth from racks of clothing to the dressing room. He didn't bother to text him. James never responded to "hurry-up" text messages when shopping.

Carlos was glancing back towards where Kendall assumed Logan still was, pouting and checking his phone. "Hurry up, Loges!"

Kendall looked over the railing at the food court below them. One particular sign caught his eye, and he bit his lip, glancing over at Carlos. He bet Carlos would go for some ice cream.

Carlos looked over at Kendall, and then followed his gaze. He bit his lip and looked thoughtful, tilting his head.

Kendall nodded a bit as his impulsively made a split decision, turning to face Carlos. "Hey, do you want to-"

"Hey! Carlos, right?" James walked towards the two, smiling as he slung the large gray shopping back over his shoulder.

"Huh? Oh, hi Mr. Diamond." The two bumped fists as Kendall took a step back, wary of what James may do or say.

Logan walked up just then, busily messing around his phone and not really looking where he was going. He crashed into James, and started apologizing profusely. "I'm sorry, Mr. Diamond!"

"Don't worry about it," James replied easily, turning towards Kendall. The blond was giving a wistful glance towards the ice cream shop, sighing a little. James followed Kendall's line of sight, hazel eyes lighting up.

"Well, we should get going," Kendall said, smiling at the two boys.

Logan nodded. "We should too. I wanted to go look at Barnes & Noble while we wait for my mom to pick us up."

"I want ice cream," James declared loudly, clapping Kendall on the shoulder as he reclaimed his second shopping bag. Kendall rolled his eyes. James and his sweet tooth.

Carlos gasped and grabbed Logan's arm. "I want ice cream too!"

Logan sighed and crossed his arms, giving Carlos a disapproving look. "You'll ruin your dinner. You know my mom will worry if you don't eat like you usually do tonight."

Carlos pouted. "But they have strawberry cheesecake! And brownie batter! And a pecan pie one!" James was practically drooling at this point, and even Kendall had to admit it sounded pretty good.

"Hmph. Dessert before dinner is unhealthy. Plus you'll crash after your sugar rush, and we won't get any homework done!"

"But Logie!" Carlos sighed, and then got a mischievous look on his face. "That place has the best vanilla milkshakes I've ever tasted too."

Logan waivered visibly, biting his lip. Carlos knew his weaknesses too well. "But, but…dinner…and homework…"

"Two words," Carlos grinned triumphantly and held up two fingers. "Extra. Cherries."

"Fine. Long as you promise to do all your homework." Logan headed towards the escalator.

"Yeah, yeah." Carlos replied breezily.

* * *

The four stood in front of the menu board, Carlos and James oohing and ahing excitedly over everything. Logan had, of course, swiftly decided what he wanted, and was currently sipping his vanilla milkshake (with extra maraschino cherries).

Carlos was bouncing up and down on his heels, the picture of excitement. "Oooh, what should I get? I love strawberry cheesecake, but look! They have fudge brownie batter! I really wanna try that."

"Just get a scoop of each?" Kendall offered.

Carlos gave him a serious look, voice firm. "You can't do that, mister. It makes things taste weird, being all mixed up."

"Ah, and we can't have the flavors be compromised."

"Yeah!" Carlos turned back towards the menu board, muttering to himself.

Kendall stepped towards the cashier, smiling when Carlos gave him a quizzical look. "Can I get one strawberry cheesecake and one brownie batter?"

When Carlos looked confused, Kendall explained, "I wanted the brownie one anyways. You can try some of mine."

"Oh, awesome!" Carlos grinned and fist bumped Kendall.

"Pecan pie for me," James chimed in. He turned to look at Kendall. "Your turn to pay, by the way."

Kendall handed the cashier his credit card, waving away Carlos as the boy dug through his wallet. "Don't worry about it, it's like three bucks."

Carlos' eyebrows shot up as he looked at Kendall in shock. "Really? You're not messing with me?"

"Yeah, really. I'm not that evil. Besides, I'm already paying for one kid here." He pointed at James, who was checking out his reflection in the ice cream case glass.

James scoffed. "Whatever. Hey, go grab us a seat, I'll bring it over."

"You're cool, mister." Carlos grinned as he grabbed his shopping bags in one hand and Kendall's hand in the other, tugging him towards the seating area. "Come on!"

Kendall swallowed as he grabbed James' bags, giving Carlos' hand a little squeeze. Carlos looked back and flashed Kendall a smile as he dragged him towards a large food court table with four seats, sitting himself next to Kendall and across from Logan.

James arrived with their frozen treats, sitting himself down next to Logan, who glanced at him and bit his lip.

Carlos and James dug into their ice cream, both pausing after their first bite to moan in pleasure. Carlos bounced in his seat next to Kendall, talking with his mouth full, "This is really awesome. My favorite."

Kendall took a spoonful of his own, surprised that it actually did taste pretty good. "The brownie batter is good too."

Carlos licked his spoon clean, and then dug it into Kendall's ice cream. He looked up, grinning with a gleam to his eye that made him look a little…well, naughtier than usual. Tasting it, he nodded in agreement. "It is really good, but I think this one is still better. Here, try." He dug his spoon into his ice cream again, giving Kendall a mini heart attack at the thought of him trying to feed him, but thankfully he lifted up the cup and held it out towards Kendall.

It was definitely sweeter than his chocolaty one, but it did have a pretty authentic strawberry cheesecake flavor…and the sight of Carlos sucking happily on his spoonful probably aided the flavor in Kendall's mind. Kendall breathed a silent sigh of relief that Carlos wasn't licking an ice cream cone.

"Sorry about that, Mr. Knight. He always does that," Logan apologized, shaking his head a little at Carlos.

Carlos gasped indignantly. "I don't always."

Logan snorted and gave Carlos a look. "When you like what I'm eating you do."

Carlos hmphed as he took another spoonful of chocolate ice cream from Kendall's cup. "You enjoy sharing. And Mr. Knight said I could."

"Yup, Kendall loves sharing," James added, reaching a long arm over to steal his own spoonful of Kendall's dessert.

"Hey!" Kendall leaned over to protect the remnants of his ice cream, looking over at Logan (who was smirking in amusement) and arching an eyebrow. "What, you're going to try steal some next?" He ate a heaping spoonful rather savagely.

"Naw, I'm good," Logan chuckled, tossing a cherry stem back into his cup.

"So, what time is your Mom supposed to pick you guys up?" Kendall asked, absently sliding the rest of his melting ice cream over to Carlos, who had been eyeing it hungrily. He smiled at the little cheer the boy gave before inhaling the last few spoonfuls.

* * *

_**Author's Note: The bad thing about writing this chapter was that I totally had a craving for my own dessert afterwards, and Whole Foods was out of pecan pie tartlets. The napoleon I got instead was too chewy and soggy. Please help ease my pain by leaving a review, and giving some feedback. Thank you!**_


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